Face Down
by peraspera
Summary: When you're an eight year old kid who's just moved to a new town and is trying to fit in and get new friends, what's a kid to do? The answer is simple; cut someone down to make yourself feel bigger. But the past always ends up coming back to haunt you. Paul/OC
1. Chapter 1

When you're an eight year old kid who's just moved to a new town and is trying to fit in and get new friends, well, you'll do just about anything to fit in. And when your skateboarding tricks just aren't cutting it with the rest of the guys, well, what's an eight year old kid to do? The answer is simple; cut someone down to make yourself feel bigger.

The problem was that Paul Lahote had never been a big kid. He'd always been especially scrawny and short, giving him the appearance of someone about a year or two younger than he actually was. That sure dealt a hit to his chances of being popular with the rest of the guys in La Push. There was also the fact that he wasn't really particularly skilled in anything, so he couldn't show them anything cool that would make them like him.

He was left with making fun of someone, but it couldn't be another guy. Not when he was the smallest kid in his classroom. No, that definitely wasn't an option.

With calculating, dark eyes, Paul Lahote scanned the room until he found his victim. A girl sat in the corner, which was what she usually did, a book in her hands. With a free hand, she pushed her large glasses up onto her nose, biting her lip. She had braces, which was rare for a kid her age, but her parents had wanted her to get in and out of them as fast as she could. Besides, she'd already lost all of her baby teeth.

Her name was Elisa Thomas. Elisa wasn't the most beautiful girl, which most people recognized, with long, bushy dark hair, tanned skin, and baggy clothes that really did nothing for her. Her green eyes would have been nice, but they were covered by bulky glasses, and stature wasn't anything to die for. She never talked to anyone. All she ever did was read.

It was then that Paul realized that he could do this. He could use this girl, this nobody, to bring himself up on the popularity scale. It was as simple as that, wasn't it?

It was with that thought that Paul Lahote marched up to the dark haired eight year old, intent on doing what he needed to do. The other boys looked on curiously, wondering what the hell he was doing with Elisa. Elisa looked up as well, her eyes wide, wondering why someone was coming over to talk to her. No one ever came over to talk to her.

"You ugly little freak." He spat, his nose scrunching up in disgust. He watched as her face fell, satisfaction filling him when his friends howled with laughter. "What'cha got there, nerd?" He questioned, plucking the book from her hands. "Ah, Pride and..." He paused. "Pride and... Pre-juice."

"_Prejudice_." She corrected him, sounding almost like a mother. That irritated Paul. She frowned, leaping to her feet. "Give me my book back!" Elisa demanded.

"No, nerd." He snapped, pushing her back so that she landed on her butt, right onto her milk carton. The entire classroom howled with laughter as her face turned bright red and tears grew in the corners of her eyes.

The tormenting continued on for years, with the teacher asking what happened and Elisa not being able to admit that Paul was teasing her. Paul was thrown up to the top of the social ladder. No one ever stood against him.

Then one day, she didn't come to school. He was eleven years old then, filling out a bit, though not by much. Paul snorted. "Good. I didn't want to see her face here anyway."

But then she didn't show up for the rest of the week. That week turned to weeks, which quickly turned to months. Paul realized that she wasn't going to come back. When he finally got the nerve to ask his mother about it, his mother told her that Elisa had problems with bullying and her parents moved her. "She wouldn't say who it was," his father had said. "But her parents knew that it was serious and so they moved. I hope that person is happy with what they did."

At first, Paul felt bad for treating Elisa like that and for causing her to move. But as the years went on, he slowly began to forget that she ever even existed. And by the time he became a part of the pack, he'd forgotten all about Elisa Thomas, and what he'd done to her.

But the past always ends up coming back to haunt you.


	2. Chapter 2

If you asked anyone in Paul's grade to describe him, they'd probably use the word 'player.' Hell, even the younger kids knew about Paul's apparent tendency to use girls and then lose them a day later. Most assumed that it was him being an incompetent asshole who enjoyed using girls and not following through, ultimately causing them heartbreak.

However, Paul's friends, his pack members, knew him better than that. They also knew something that everyone else didn't know; Paul was eighteen years old, and he still had yet to imprint.

Him going out with all of those girls and then never calling them back afterwards? Yes, that was just him trying desperately to find his imprint. He didn't pick girls at random. He picked girls that interested him in some way. Girls that were pretty were his main target. Paul loved a pretty girl. Embry liked to joke and call him a bird, who'd swoop in on any bright, shiny object that occupied his fancy at the time and take it with him, before abandoning it for the next object. That one earned Embry a swift slap to the back of the head.

In reality, Paul hated himself for doing this to the women he dated, but at the same time, he honestly couldn't care less. He wanted to fall in love, but at the same time, he didn't want fate to decide things for him. He wanted to find his soul mate slowly.

When Paul tried to explain it to the pack members, he did it like this; think of it this way. Would you rather have a surprise birthday party, or look at your house and realize, 'Hey, I'm going to have a party there later today.' It's just not the same, is it? Of course, his pack members never got what he meant, seeing as the rest of them had either already imprinted or were completely and utterly psyched about it, which left him alone in the matter.

Of course, one day, everything changed for Paul Lahote.

He remembered that it had been a distinctly cloudy and humid day that day, causing him to sport a pair of jeans and a muscle t-shirt, which earned him quite a few appreciate looks from the girls he passed in the hallways. It was also the day after his failed date with Lauren McKenzie, who's friends sent him death glares as he walked down the halls. He ignored them. He'd gotten used to those looks by now.

"Paul." Jacob greeted him casually as he walked up to his friend. "Guess who's back?"

"Who?" Paul questioned, half-listening and half in a daze. He'd patrolled late the night before, and was currently working on a gas tank that was half full. He opened his locker, shoving his English book back in and taking out his book for Math.

"Elisa Thomas." Jacob replied. When Paul looked over at him, showing that he clearly didn't recognize the name, Jacob continued. "You used to tease the shit out of her when you were eight, remember? Geeky looking, dark hair, glasses?"

"Oh." Paul nodded his head, turning back to his locker as he shut it. "Yeah, I remember her. She's back?"

"Yeah, Paul, but there's something that I have to tell you." Jacob continued, following after Paul as the older boy began walking to his first class.

"Tell me later." Paul grumbled. "I didn't eat breakfast this morning, I got barely any sleep, and I'm not in the mood to talk about the Ghost of Christmas Past."

"But, Paul, it's important." Jacob stressed, dodging a cluster of girls as they walked carelessly down the hall, gossiping to themselves. "Like, seriously important."

Paul sighed, looking back at Jacob important. "Jake, what the hell is so damn important that you need to keep fucking annoying the living shit out of me?"

"Paul-"

Suddenly, Paul felt a force hit his chest. He looked straight ahead of him, only to see a girl on the floor, sitting on her ass. Well, shit. He bent down to retrieve her book, seeing that the cover read 'Pride and Prejudice.'

"Huh, Pride and Prejuice." He read carelessly, extending a hand to the girl who's long, waist length, straight dark hair was currently in her face. Her skin was tanned, lightly so, but was a sign that she was part Quileute. "Interesting read."

"I see that you still can't pronounce words to save your life." Came a sultry sounding voice, one that made something stir in Paul's stomach. A hand was in his and he pulled the girl up, who proceeded to clear the hair out of her face, revealing deep, emerald eyes framed by long lashes. "Prejudice." She corrected him, grabbing her book back.

Suddenly, the world stopped, and he felt as if gravity wasn't holding him to the earth anymore. It was her that was keeping her there, nothing else. It was as if he was a ship out at sea, and she was the anchor that was keeping him at bay. She was the only reason for him to breathe anymore.

A jab at his side made him snap back to reality as Elisa looked at him, a brow cocked at him. "Well, seeing as you apparently don't have the ability to form coherent sentences at this moment, I suppose I'll see you around." With that, Elisa marched off, her stride confident. She definitely wasn't the same Elisa Thomas that Paul had known when he was younger.

"_Damn_." Embry whistled as he joined them, Jared and Kim trailing along with him. "Who's that fine piece of ass?"

Paul slapped him across the back of the head, making Embry whine in protest. "That's Elisa Thomas." Jacob explained. "She was in Paul's class when they were younger. He used to tease her, and then she moved, but now she's back and he imprinted on her."

"Damn." Jared cursed along with Embry.

"Does she remember him at all?" Kim questioned Jacob, seeing as Paul wasn't much help right now.

"Yeah." Jacob nodded his head, pocketing his hands in his jeans. "And she also seems to remember him bullying her."

"_Yikes_." Kim cringed, turning to Paul. "Well, good luck with this one, Paul." With a pat on his shoulder, she and Jared were off, Embry trailing behind them.

"Come on, don't worry about it." Jacob assured him as they walked to class. "She's your imprint. You guys are soul mates. She'll come around eventually."

The only problem with that? Well, he'd bullied his soul mate to the point where she wanted to move as far away as possible from him. How was he supposed to bounce back from that?

* * *

**A/N**:

Loula Lahote: Thanks so much! I'm glad that you enjoyed it. :)

LifeIsTooShortEatIceCream: This has got to be one of the sweetest reviews that I've ever gotten. Thank you so so so much. I'm planning for this story to have a bunch of twists and turns, because I really don't want it to become boring/predictable. Those types of stories aren't fun. Thanks so much for reviewing. :D

Paulover23: Thank you for reviewing and reading, and I'll definitely be updating this story very often, as I've got _so_ many ideas for it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Thanks again for all of the lovely reviews, guys!

LifeIsTooShortEatIceCream: Thank you for reviewing again, and thanks for making it such a long review, too. I didn't originally plan to write chapters with different POVs, but now that you mention it, that may help you understand each of the characters more (especially Elisa), so I'll most likely be doing that. Actually, this chapter will start off in Paul's POV. Thanks again for reviewing. :)

Without further ado, here's the next chapter!

* * *

Paul

"You alright, Paul?"

Embry Call always had a habit of being my shadow. Sure, we were great friends and sure, he was practically like a brother to me, but he didn't need to be up my ass twenty four seven. If he wasn't annoying me, he was most likely pitching himself off of the cliff for fun. We all did it, but Embry was the real adreneline junkie in the pack. Sam always chastised him for it, going on and on about how it could screw him up and then Carlisle would have to come and reset his bones. None of the other guys were as annoying as Embry.

Quil was nearly always with Claire. If he wasn't with Claire, he was off doing some good deed to help the world or something. Sure, his sunny disposition wasn't as nearly as bad as Seth's, but he was damn well close to it. That sort of helped when your imprint was a little kid.

Jacob had a habit of being up my ass as well, but it wasn't in an annoying way like Embry's is. Jacob was, in a sense, the closest person to me in the pack. He was levelheaded and smart, and although he was kind of in love with a leech lover, he was a pretty cool guy. He was always looking out for me, and so I did the same to him.

Jared was usually glued to Kim's side. If I had to pick anyone in the pack who's PDA made me the sickest, I'd choose Kim and Jared in a heartbeat. They were constantly kissing, and if they weren't kissing, they were groping, and if they weren't groping, they were off in some private area, screwing until the sun came up. When they were away from each other, all they thought about was being near each other.

Sam and Emily weren't nearly as bad. They loved each other, and it was clear in the way they acted, but Sam was also the dictator. He made sure that all of us were safe, but he also made sure that we got our duties done and we didn't slack off. Emily was the one who really babied us, cooking us meals all the time, but she could also be strict when she needed to be.

Leah made me way to wack her upside the head with a brick some days. Other days, I really didn't mind her. She's always moody as hell and acts as if she's one of the guys, which she's clearly not, but she likes to delude herself into thinking she is.

Seth is Leah's younger sister, but he's not nearly as pissy as Leah is. In fact, he annoys me for an entirely different reason. I'm pretty sure that he pisses rainbows or something, because the kid is like a walking sunshine. He's always happy and kind, and he's always eager to help out everyone, even the Cullens.

Anyway, Embry was currently up my ass like the pesky little roach he is. "Paul, I asked you a question." He continued to pry. Some days, I'd really like to just throw him off of a cliff myself, but knowing him, he'd probably enjoy it.

"I heard you ask it." I replied in a matter of fact tone, showing him that I clearly didn't give a shit.

"Well, just answer it." Embry said, crossing his arms indignantly.

I turned to face him, ready to smack him across the face if I needed to. Sure, we were all strong and sure, we could all shift, but I was bigger and older than Embry, and I could kick his ass in a second. He knew that, which is why he backed up a step. I opened my mouth, ready to tell him off, but Kim's knowing voice cut me off. "He's angry because Elisa Thomas is hot now, and she's never going to give him the time of day." He flashed her a glare but she ignored it, grinning and climbing into Jared's car.

Embry laughed as well, climbing into the back seat of Jared's car. I grumbled to myself, getting into my car, trying desperately not to go over there and rip that smirk off of Jared's face.

* * *

Elisa

"Sweetheart, can you grab that nail for me?"

I jumped off of the couch, picking the nail from the pack off of the counter and handing it to my aunt, who was currently trying to put up a mirror in my room. I was still getting settled in and she'd designed everything, but the mirror was the finishing touch.

My aunt was a beautiful woman, with short, black hair that went to her shoulders. She had the same color skin as me as well, a nice, caramel color, but she had dark brown eyes that almost appeared black, except for small flecks of gold.

She's my aunt on my dad's side, meaning that my dad looked a lot like her as well. He was part of the Quilette tribe, which is why he had that dark hair, tanned skin, and dark eyes. My mother was a different story entirely. Being of Irish decent, she had extremely pale skin, emerald green eyes, and blonde hair. I'd inherited my father's dark hair, a mixture of their skin tones, and my mother's green eyes. My aunt often called me a rose among thorns, but I rolled my eyes at her when she said that.

When I was a kid, I was never called beatiful. No one ever commented on my eyes, or told me that my hair was a great color, or said that they loved my skin tone. No one ever did any of that. I suppose that part of it was the fact that I was so quiet, part of it was the fact that I preferred books to people, but most of it was because of one boy; Paul Lahote.

That reminded me. "Guess who I saw at school today." I said as I walked into the kitchen to make myself a small snack.

"Who, sweetie?" My aunt asked as took out the hammer, pounding the nail into the wall easily. "Can you hand me another?"

I grabbed a few cookies and then grabbed another nail, leaving the kitchen and walking down the hall and back into my room. I handed her the nail and she thanked me. "Paul Lahote. You know, the kid that bullied me all throughout my childhood?"

"Oh, really?" My aunt questioned, a slight edge in her tone. I smiled at that. My aunt knew how much Paul had bullied me, and she knew how horrible he made me feel throughout my childhood. "What happened?"

"It was the weirdest thing, Darcy." I said with a sigh, using my aunt's real name. When I was younger, she told me to drop the whole 'aunt' thing, saying that it made her feel old. "I bumped into him in the hallway, and he knocked my book out of my hands. Then he looked at me, and he just stared at me like... I don't know. Like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. But not in a sense that he was surprised that I was back. It was like he was looking at me in an entirely different light." I took a bite of one of the cookies, then continued. "It was so weird. Then he didn't speak, so I just sort of... Y'know, left. It's hard to hold a conversation with just one person."

About halfway into the conversation, Darcy started smiling knowingly as she hung the mirror up. By the time I finished, she stepped back and grinned at me. "You know what? I think that you should give him a chance."

I gaped at her. "Have you lost your mind, Darcy? He made my childhood an absolute hell and you want me to try and give him a chance?"

Darcy nodded her head, stealing one of my cookies as she passed me. I followed her as she walked down the hallway. "Look at it this way, sweetie." She explained. "That was when you were really little. Things have changed since then. You've matured, and so has Paul. Just... Promise me that you'll at least give him a chance?"

"Fine." I grumbled, crossing my arms moodily. Darcy kissed my forehead as she walked by, and soon after, I heard the door to her room shut. "But I still think he's an asshole!" I called out, though I knew that she wasn't listening.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Sorry for the slow updates! I have finals this week and I had them last week, too. But after this week, I should be free for an entire week to write for you guys! After that, starting the 21st I'll be on vacation and the only internet access I'll have is on my phone. But a week after that I'll be home and I can write for the entire summer vacation.

LifeIsTooShortEatIceCream: Thank you so much for your constant reviews. :) I tried to describe them in a way how Paul felt about them, just so you know his relationship with them. It'll also help when Elisa properly meets them and talks to them. Haha, she totally is a nerd, especially a history and English nerd. Elisa loves books, which will come more into play later in the story. Her parents will also be mentioned later, because that's also part of the plot and will be revealed when her and Paul get closer (and when she doesn't want to throttle him). You're right about that! Since Darcy is Quileute (full Quileute, actually) she knows about the imprinting stuff and she knows about the wolves, which is why she's acting so sly around Elisa. Poor Elisa doesn't know a thing about it, though. Yes, I LOVE imprint stories, and I'll definitely read yours and drop a review as soon as I get a chance (which will hopefully be within the next few days).

* * *

Let me just tell you something; geometry is literally the most useless class you could ever take. I mean, there are classes like financial literacy and history and english, and those classes are fine. Those classes actually prepare you for the real world, and those are the classes that I ace.

Math? Not so much. That was why I was a senior stuck in a sophomore level class. Seriously, I suck that bad at math.

But you know what? It wouldn't be that bad if geometry was an actual life skill that I needed to learn. No, they made me take this damn class even though it wouldn't actually help me with real life.

Take this worksheet for an example. When was I ever going to need to calculate the area of a circle in my life? Yes, when I get older I'll buy a circular table and when my husband and I bring it home, I'll say to him, "Sweetie, hold on. Let me calculate the area of our door and this table just to see if it'll fit alright."

Fat chance of that shit happening, my friend. Fat chance.

This was also the class that I zoned out in the most. I'll admit that me zoning out and staring out the window wasn't exactly going to help my currently shit grade, but then again, it was kind of their fault for planting such pretty flowers right outside of the classroom. Seriously, what were those things? They sort of looked like daisies to me. Yeah, those were daisies.

"Miss Thomas."

Great, apparently I'd zoned out and missed the bell. Really, I must have broken a record by now for least responsive person. I could compete with the desks in this room. "Yes, Mr. Greengrass?"

Having Mr. Greengrass as my geometry teacher really didn't help me learn at all because he was so damn boring all the time. He didn't even try to make it fun. All he did was talk with this damn monotone voice all the time and drone on and on about proofs and volumes and stupid stuff like that.

Anyway, Mr. Greengrass was currently giving me a death glare that could freeze hell over. "You're failing my class and it's only the fifth day into the school year."

I forced myself to choke down the question of if that was a new record or not. Instead, I stayed silent, allowing him to continue. "I've arranged for you to have a tutor from one of our incredibly gifted math students."

Alright, that wasn't so bad. I'd just get tutored by someone, maybe even meet a new friend. "So who is it?"

Just then, a familiar figure walked into the room. He grinned at me, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, his entire posture screaming 'cocky little asshole' at me. I scowled. "You have got to be kidding me."

"He's one of the most gifted math students I've seen in a while, Miss Thomas." Mr. Greengrass responded, sounding offended. Dude, chill out. No need to get such a math boner for the cocky asshole over yonder. "And he'll help you boost your grade up considerably. He's even offered to teach you every single afternoon after school."

Kill me now, please.

* * *

"So, should I pick you up after school and take you to my house or are we going to your house?"

Apparently, Paul Lahote couldn't grasp when he was and wasn't wanted around someone. He had this annoying habit of sticking to my side as if he was my conjoined twin.

"I'd rather not be over your house, seeing as I'm still convinced that you may or may not be some ridiculously attractive serial killer." I snapped.

Paul smirked in response. "You think I'm ridiculously handsome?"

I scowled at him, turning and striding away from him confidently. Paul still followed me, keeping up with his annoying streak. "So, how can someone be this smart, but suck so bad at math?"

"How can someone be so good at math, but still not know how to pronounce the word 'prejudice' after nearly a decade?" I shot back.

"Feisty." Paul responded with a smirk. "Those are my favorite kind of girls."

"Prick." I snapped with a roll of my eyes, turning to face Paul. "Those are my least favorite kind of guys." With that, I turned and continued walking. He caught up with me and matched my pace easily. Curse his stupid long legs.

"Look, if this is about what happened when we were kids, I'm sorry." Paul offered. "I mean, it was like, ten years ago. Are you seriously still angry about that?"

"You made my childhood a living hell, Paul." I replied. "Do you really think I'd let it go that easily?"

"You called me Paul."

"What?" I demanded, raising an eyebrow at him.

Paul smirked, nudging my side with his elbow. "You actually used my name this time. It means you're starting to like me."

"It means that you should fuck off before I crush your face into the pavement." I snapped before walking away from him for the final time, going to my car and leaving him in the dust.


End file.
